Emergency eyewashes and showers are used in a variety of industrial, educational, and governmental settings in which dangerous chemicals are present. Should a user's eyes become contaminated (or the user's body become contaminated) a nearby, easy to use, and safe emergency washing system can provide quick and thorough flushing of the contamination.
Typically, these eyewash and shower installations include a catch basin located about waist-high, with the eyewash unit operated such that the expelled water falls within the basin, the outlet of which is plumbed to a drain. The catch basin and sink in some installations have yet other valving at the waist-high level, such as a shutoff valve (typically located over the drainage basin as well), a protective cover for the eyewash nozzles when not in use, tubing to supply hot water, and tubing to supply cold water. In almost all installations, this variety of plumbing and components is presented at about waist level.
Often, these emergency wash systems are located in laboratories or manufacturing areas in which space is at a premium. Therefore, it becomes important to efficiently pack the wash system so that the required plumbing connections are easy and inexpensive to make, and further to use as little “real estate” relative either to the floor or the wall, especially because of pre-existing facilities that need to be plumbed around and designed around. Therefore, it becomes important for the emergency wash system to require as few components as possible, and combine various functions in a single device whenever possible.
Still further, some of the most valuable “real estate” in a laboratory or manufacturing area is located from the floor level up to about the height of an average person. This volume is readily accessible to the user, since it is generally within an arm's length of the user. Most importantly, the portion of the volume located waist-high is most valuable, since a waist-high location falls within an ergonometrically-optimum location if the user is to perform any work over this real estate.
Further, as the system and the system components become more tightly packed and various functions combined, it is important to maintain accurate mixing of the hot and cold streams. In some applications, the location and surroundings of the emergency wash system are already crowded with other plumbing, other components, electrical wiring, air ducts, and the like. Space on the manufacturing floor can be especially costly. Therefore, it is important to configure the components of the wash system such that they require relatively little space, and such that they take into account these pre-existing features. This makes the installer and maintainer of the wash system able to make a simple and quick of an installation (or perform maintenance) and not have to contend with other components. By providing this efficient packaging, the emergency wash system achieves two benefits: the wash systems are installed in more locations, and the wash systems are more effectively maintained.
Another problem encountered in the use of an emergency shower pertains to the flow pattern of the shower. It has been found that many emergency showers are deficient in terms of providing a generally even dispersal of water over the user. Often, some portions of the spray pattern are seriously deficient in water flow compared to other areas of the spray pattern. Non-uniform patterns such as these require more time for the contaminant to be removed from the user, and also requires the user to be cognizant that the shower is non-uniformly delivered. This delay in time causes the contaminant to stay on the user's body for a longer period of time, with increased threat to the health of the user.
Yet another factor that complicates the problems thus discussed is the desire to use less water in any new water-handling device. Emergency wash systems can benefit from lower flow rates by producing a gentler and more predictable upward stream of water to flush the user's eyes or face. If an emergency washing system is not comfortable, then it is less likely to be used, which defeats the purpose of the emergency wash system. It has been observed that some eye washing systems produce output sprays that are too strong or flow too high to be comfortably used.
What is needed are improvements that address one or more of the aforementioned problems. Various embodiments of the present invention provides such novel and nonobvious solutions.